The door creaked open.
Dirga stepped out, freshly changed into his signature grey sweatpants and a loose black shirt — the closest thing to armor he had for what was waiting beyond.
The moment Jane saw him, she didn't speak. She commanded.
"Come here," she said, her voice like the opening bell of a final boss fight — calm, deadly, inevitable.
She stood at the center of the living room like a character summoned from a Mortal Kombat arena, one eyebrow raised, arms crossed, judgment in every breath.
But Dirga didn't meet her fire with defiance.
Instead, he walked past the couch, lowered himself slowly to the floor, and sat cross-legged like a monk awaiting punishment. He even raised his hands into the air in surrender — or maybe offering.
It was pathetic.
It was smart.
Jane stalked forward, each step clicking on the marble floor like the tick of a detonator.
"So what the hell have you been doing for the past two months, huh?" Her tone cracked like a whip. "No calls. No texts. Nothing."
Dirga opened his mouth. "Well—"
Wrong move.
Jane pounced with words before he could finish.
"No! Don't you 'well' me! I've had to deal with hospital visits, board meetings, government agents, demons, and you ghosting us like some moody teen in a K-drama!"
Dirga wisely said nothing. He lowered his head like a man on trial, taking the storm in silence.
Off to the side, in the kitchen alcove, Sasa and Lilith peeked out like two guilty raccoons watching a house fire.
"We better hide," Sasa muttered, already mid-step backward.
"Cheering you on, Uncle," Lilith whispered, giving him a tiny fist bump before ducking behind the fridge.
Jane let the silence stretch as her frustration finally began to ebb. Her breathing slowed, arms dropping to her sides.
"…Start explaining," she said.
Dirga exhaled deeply and nodded.
And so he did.
He told her everything.
From the dark realms to the devil tournament. The gravity concept, the black hole meditation, the transformations. His pact with Sasa. The battle with Lucian Marruk. The children trained to kill. The blood. The near death. The pain. The purpose.
He told her of Naya — how saving her had always been the goal. How the devil's path was the only road he could walk now. How each fight carved him into someone who could reach her.
Jane listened. She didn't interrupt. Not this time.
The anger in her face faded, replaced by something deeper. A mixture of worry. Awe. And pain.
When the tale ended, the room was quiet again.
Until Jane spoke.
"…You really went to hell and back."
Dirga chuckled. "That was just the first level."
"Right." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Of course it was."
From the hallway, a voice drifted into the tension like a pebble tossed into a pond.
"Ah. So we're inviting me now?"
Sasa stepped into the light, back in his old man human form — crisp silver hair, sharp eyes, dressed in a crimson jacket and slacks, like someone between a mafia boss and a retired magician.
He gave Jane a short bow.
"Sasa," Jane said flatly.
You called," Sasa said, grinning like a guilty magician caught red-handed.
"Get over here," Jane snapped.
Lilith peeked out from behind the hallway wall.
"He's dead," she whispered to herself.
Sasa rolled his shoulders theatrically — as if preparing for his own execution — and strolled into the center of the room like it was a stage. The eternal devil in disguise, in the body of an old man with silver hair and a coy smirk.
He passed Dirga, who was still sitting on the floor with the posture of a repentant monk.
Sasa looked down at him.
Paused.
And sat beside him.
Two devils — one human, one eternal — humbled before the wrath of one mortal woman.
Jane raised an eyebrow. "Is it true?"
"Hmm… yessss," Sasa replied, voice dragging out like he was tasting the word.
Jane sighed and sat down, tension melting slowly from her frame.
Dirga and Sasa exchanged glances, then rose carefully, like soldiers granted parole.
Lilith, trying to ease the tension, brought Jane a glass of water.
"Thank you," Jane said.
"Yes ma'am," Lilith replied like a soldier delivering rations to a queen.
After a long sip, Jane leaned forward. "You know this is dangerous, Dirga. Let someone help you. Let me join. Two people are better than one."
Dirga blinked. That was unexpected.
"Sorry, Jane," Sasa said, holding up a finger like a disappointed parent. "It doesn't work like that. You don't just join the Devil's Tournament like it's a poker game."
He stretched, the mood lightening for a breath.
"There are only 1,000 spots. And they're already filled. The only way to get in now is to kill someone who's already in." Sasa turned his head toward Dirga and smiled, "Like you did."
Dirga's heart skipped.
Lucian.
So it wasn't a coincidence.
He wasn't just some rogue devil.
Dirga's entry into the tournament came with blood.
He looked at Sasa, eyes narrowing.
"You knew," he said.
Sasa, unfazed, looked away, lips pursed like he suddenly remembered a more interesting spot on the ceiling.
"Well," Sasa said, brushing invisible dust from his pants, "now that we're all here — maybe I'll finally explain this tournament a little more."
Lilith slid onto the couch next to Jane, watching Sasa like he was about to unveil a prophecy.
"The first round is battle royale style. One thousand contractors thrown into a hellscape. No alliances. No mercy. No time-outs. When there are only a hundred left, we move to coliseum combat — one-on-one, two-on-two, maybe worse. That's when the real show begins."
"And when is this happening?" Dirga asked.
"Four months," Sasa said, "in Hell."
Dirga took a breath.
Four months.
That was all the time he had.
"Oh," Sasa added, "and there's an age cap. Max age? 150 years."
Dirga blinked again.
"One hundred and fifty?!"
"That's like… eight times older than me," he muttered.
Then something clicked.
The kids.
"Kairo. Silja. Sasa, where are the kids?"
Sasa's eyes darkened, just for a second.
"Asura took them," he said quietly.
Dirga's spine tensed.
"Who?"
"Asura," Sasa said, more clearly this time. "An Ace-ranked devil. Diamond suit. One of the 52. Creator of the tournament. Lucian's patron. And the one who will support me if you win."
Jane and Lilith fell silent.
Dirga's voice sharpened. "So you knew Lucian was a contractor?"
"Well, yes," Sasa admitted casually.
"I almost died."
Sasa gave a shrug and a sheepish thumbs-up. "For my defense, I didn't know he could transform. Also, I was close enough to save you, so… technically safe!"
Dirga opened his mouth, anger burning.
But Jane stood up.
"That's enough," she said firmly. "I already know. Dirga, listen to me."
Dirga turned. She was calm now. But her words hit harder than before.
"I know Naya means everything to you. And she would want you to live. Live, Dirga. Not throw your life away."
Dirga's voice was quiet.
"But I can't live happily without her."
Jane gave a half-smile. It was sad. Proud. Resigned.
"Then don't die, you idiot."
Dirga nodded. Just once.
Jane stepped back, her eyes softer now.
"I'll support you," she said. "But if you die…"
"I won't," Dirga promised.